On Klutzes

On Chapo the other day Amber A'Lee Frost raised an interesting point. Regarding the novels of John Steinback, she suggested that he was feeding into a national conversation happening at the time he was writing about what to do about people who just aren't very good at things, but in a way not generally recognised … Continue reading On Klutzes

Reflections occasioned by reading Michael Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit”, Part 1.

(Part 1 is occasioned by the first 3 chapters) The Irish Elk may have been driven extinct in part due to excessive competition to have larger and more powerful horns by the males. It's obvious once it's pointed out, but it really is amazing how few noticed "anyone can succeed in America" is a big … Continue reading Reflections occasioned by reading Michael Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit”, Part 1.

Twitter is a reverse panopticon: The internal agent

Foucault in a frankly over cited discussion refers to Jeremy Bentham's panopticon- a hypothetical prison in which one never knows if one is being watched because there's one way glass everywhere. The possibility of being watched instils behaviour similar to if one actually were being watched all the time. Eventually (and this is somewhat my … Continue reading Twitter is a reverse panopticon: The internal agent

One of the most important political issues you’ve almost certainly never heard of

In a recent memorandum the President Joe Biden directed: "...Director of OMB, in consultation with representatives of executive departments and agencies (agencies), as appropriate and as soon as practicable, to begin a process with the goal of producing a set of recommendations for improving and modernizing regulatory review." It is my hope that this review … Continue reading One of the most important political issues you’ve almost certainly never heard of

Stop claiming you believe in equality of opportunity, you probably don’t

I am sick unto death of people saying that they “believe in equality of opportunity, not outcome” often in a smug tone, as if they had just delivered some bon mot, proven a difficult theorem or made a subtle but crucial conceptual distinction. A neat dichotomy between equality of outcome and opportunity doesn't work. The … Continue reading Stop claiming you believe in equality of opportunity, you probably don’t

Of calculus, cheating and the duties of a friend and parent

Twitter is abuzz with discussion about a post on the subreddit "Am I the asshole". While there's every chance the story in the post is made up (like many stories on "Am I the asshole"), I think it's an interesting case for thinking about the ethics of friendship. Essentially a highschooler is in a group … Continue reading Of calculus, cheating and the duties of a friend and parent